Surface Pro 7 does not work with external display via Surface Dock

Question

I have just bought a Surface Pro 7.

Problem: The external display connected to my Surface Dock remains black when connected to the SP7 (via Surface Connect). I am unable to duplicate or extend it. The external display continues to work just fine when I plug in my old SP4.

The monitor is connected to the dock via MiniDisplay-to-HDMI cable. In the settings, it is displayed as „Display 2: LED236W3S-9E“ and as „Connected via Intel ® Iris ® Plus Graphics.“. Below that, it says „Display 2 isn't active.“

So far I have...

1. ...installed all available Windows 10 updates.
2. ...used Microsoft's new tool to manually update the dock’s firmware and check the results via Registry Editor. They seem correct:

• Component10CurrentFwVersion: 0x04ac3970
• Component20CurrentFwVersion: 0x04a1d570

3. ... restarted the graphics driver via WIN + CTRL + SHIFT + B multiple times.
4. ... called Microsoft’s Tech Support for Remote Assistance. The technician did not find a solution but was very friendly, seemed competent and showed considerable endurance (over 40 minutes). He deinstalled and reinstalled various drivers, checked the registry etc.

In the end, tech support suggested replacing the SP7 with another one (to rule out a hardware problem) but I am not quite ready to do that. Does anyone else have a solution?

Hal

Answer 1

I have had this problem for over a year utilizing a Book, Dock, and 2 BenQ BL2420PT monitors via miniDP->DP cables from the dock.  Most of the time when I boot the Book (cover closed) the screens briefly flash like they received a signal (power button goes to white) then go back to 'standby' mode a few seconds later.

I can get around this pretty simply:  I have the monitors and dock plugged into a power strip.  When I boot the Book, I just wait for the monitors to go back into 'standby' mode (orange power button), then simply flip the switch off on the power strip, wait about 5 seconds, and flip the power strip switch back on again.  Monitors go through their BenQ splash screen and the Book / dock sync up and both monitors now work normally until the next time I shut down the Book.

I did not have this problem with my previous monitors (HP HDMI), but have had it since going to BenQ and DP.  I have not tested the BenQ with the miniDP->HDMI.

Not sure if this solution will work for the rest of you, but it works every time for my situation.  Before this I tried powering down the monitors then back on again, removing the power cord to the monitors and then plugging back in, removing the power for just the dock and plugging back in - nothing worked consistently until I discovered the "turn the power strip off and on again" approach.

Good luck!

Answer 2

I have experimented some more and the diagnosis is clear: the Surface Pro 7 is the problem and it is not defective either.

My wife also has a Surface Dock, with another old monitor (connected via MiniDisplay-to-DVI), and a Surface Pro 6. SP4, SP6 and SP7 work just fine with her setup, but the SP7 alone refuses to work with my old monitor.

Apparently, the Surface Pro 7 does not work with some older monitors - whether via Surface Dock or USB-C (I've tried both options) - that work just fine with the SP4 and SP6.

My wife and I have simply exchanged monitors but I sure hope that Microsoft will fix this problem with an update before my wife wants a new Surface in a few years...

Tech Support has been very nice (if unsuccessful). Thank you.

Answer 3

I'm having a similiar issue. Looks like SP7 does not support display dock properly? I wanted a dropin upgrade for my SP3 but it's not working. Hubs with external monitors to hdmi work fine, but none I've tried work with display dock.

Answer 4

I have just bought a Surface Pro 7.

Problem: The external display connected to my Surface Dock remains black when connected to the SP7 (via Surface Connect). I am unable to duplicate or extend it. The external display continues to work just fine when I plug in my old SP4.

The monitor is connected to the dock via MiniDisplay-to-HDMI cable. In the settings, it is displayed as „Display 2: LED236W3S-9E“ and as „Connected via Intel ® Iris ® Plus Graphics.“. Below that, it says „Display 2 isn't active.“

 

So far I have...

1. ...installed all available Windows 10 updates.
2. ...used Microsoft's new tool to manually update the dock’s firmware and check the results via Registry Editor. They seem correct:

• Component10CurrentFwVersion: 0x04ac3970
• Component20CurrentFwVersion: 0x04a1d570

3. ... restarted the graphics driver via WIN + CTRL + SHIFT + B multiple times.
4. ... called Microsoft’s Tech Support for Remote Assistance. The technician did not find a solution but was very friendly, seemed competent and showed considerable endurance (over 40 minutes). He deinstalled and reinstalled various drivers, checked the registry etc.

In the end, tech support suggested replacing the SP7 with another one (to rule out a hardware problem) but I am not quite ready to do that. Does anyone else have a solution?

Hal

Hi Newbie1997 ,

Thank you for reaching out Microsoft Community. If the display is not active, it could be that it was not set to extend or duplicate. Please open the Settings> System> Display> Under Multiple displays, check if it's not disconnected.

If it set to duplicate / extended, try reseating the Surface dock by unplugging the dock from the Surface, unplugging the dock's power from the outlet and unplugging the power cable from the dock. Then reconnect everything and check if it's working.

If it's still not working, try clearing the display cache of the dock by running this link:

http://download.microsoft.com/download/8/5/5/8554763F-DBF9-41B3-9F12-605FA0A99183/surface%20dock%20registry.zip

Please let us know how the issue progresses

Best regards,

GeraldAldrin_T

Microsoft Agent | Moderator

Answer 5

I'm having a similiar issue. Looks like SP7 does not support display dock properly? I wanted a dropin upgrade for my SP3 but it's not working. Hubs with external monitors to hdmi work fine, but none I've tried work with display dock.

Me too, the same problem.

SP7 connects to the dock station, here is even a characteristic sound of connecting a new hardware, but the external display remains blank. I, too, tried reinstalling drivers, clearing the display cache, etc. Nothing works. Ironically, Windows reacts on the connection and shows two displays being connected, it just does not send a proper signal vial the dock station. It keeps working well with my old SP4, though.

I ordered a USB-C connecting hub, will try it in a few days. But so far I am very disappointed not being able to connect SP7 via docing station :(